Associations of regions, departments and mayors boycott the Conference of Territories

Paris – The presidents of badociations of regions, departments and mayors of France jointly announced Tuesday the boycott of the National Territories Conference on July 12, to denounce a decline in decentralization and the lack of a real dialogue with the State.
  

" We will not go tomorrow (Wednesday) to the dialogue forum of the National Conference and on July 12 at the National Conference of Territories ", announced the President of the Assembly of Departments of France (ADF) Dominique Bussereau at a press conference, alongside his counterparts from the Hervé Morin Regions, and the mayors François Baroin.

" The collectivities can not support by their presence an instance which became only a pretense of consultation and dialogue ", explained the three instances.

" For the departments, what broke the camel's back is the way we discussed two topics: (…) unaccompanied minors (…) and then individual allowances of solidarity "he continued.

The departments had already announced last week their withdrawal from the National Conference because of a " flip-flop " of the government on funding social badistance (AIS). What Édouard Philippe defended during a session of Questions to the Government in the Senate.

" We have frozen all our contacts with the ministries (…) I think the dialogue will resume but it will resume only if the state puts things on the table ", warned M Bussereau (LR).

" It does not work for a year ", added François Baroin (LR). " We find ourselves today in a dead end that we regret ," said the mayor of Troyes, denouncing the decisions " unilateral " taken at the top of the state.

Harsh since the arrival of the new executive, relations between communities and the government have deteriorated in recent months against the backdrop of discussion of financial contracts State / communities to limit the increase in their operating expenses.

" We contracted with the State for years ", but these contracts are " not a contract but a diktat ," blasted François Baroin. " You have no choice but to sign ," he denounced.

Hervé Morin (centrist), denounced a " mock dialogue " with the government. " We wanted to build with a state we were told it was going to change governance ", he said, regretting a " political behavior that is Paleolithic ".

Communities had until June 30 to sign the agreements on control of local expenditures. Édouard Philippe announced last week that more than 200 of the largest French communities, out of the 322 concerned, had already signed these agreements, which they pledge to limit the increase in their operating expenses to 1.2% per year. .